Basis of Presentation	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited consolidated condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and with applicable quarterly reporting regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. They do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements and, accordingly, should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related footnotes included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Media General, Inc. ("Media General" or the "Company") for the year ended December 31, 2015. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of interim financial information have been included. In September 2015, the Company announced a merger agreement under which the Company would have acquired all of the outstanding common stock of Meredith Corporation (“Meredith”) in a cash and stock transaction. Later in September of 2015 the Company received an unsolicited proposal from Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (“Nexstar”) to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Media General. Following discussion between the various parties, in January 2016 Media General terminated its agreement with Meredith, with Media General paying Meredith a $60 million termination fee and providing Meredith with an opportunity to negotiate for the purchase of certain broadcast and digital assets owned by the Company. Immediately thereafter, the Company entered into an agreement with Nexstar whereby Nexstar will acquire all outstanding shares of Media General for $10.55 per share in cash, 0.1249 shares of Nexstar Class A common stock for each Media General share and a contingent value right (CVR). The cash consideration and the stock consideration are fixed amounts and do not increase or decrease based upon the proceeds (if any) from the disposition of either Nexstar's or Media General's spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission's ("FCC") Incentive Auction. Upon the completion of the transaction, Nexstar will change its name to Nexstar Media Group. Each CVR will entitle Media General shareholders to a pro rata share of the net cash proceeds as received from the sale of Media General's spectrum in the FCC's Incentive Auction. It is estimated that Media General shareholders will own approximately 34% and existing Nexstar shareholders will retain approximately 66% ownership of the combined company after closing. The closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of a number of conditions including, but not limited to, the approval of various matters relating to the transaction by Media General and Nexstar shareholders, the approval of the FCC, clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust act and certain third party consents. On September 15, 2016 the transaction received clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust act. Merger-related expenses for legal and professional fees for the Nexstar transaction totaled $1.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016. Merger-related expenses for the Meredith termination fee, legal and professional fees for the Meredith and Nexstar transactions totaled $69 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016. In connection with the Nexstar transaction, Nexstar and its respective subsidiaries, as applicable, have entered into definitive agreements to divest Nexstar's WCWJ station in Jacksonville, Florida and the Company's WSLS-TV station in Roanoke-Lynchburg, Virginia to Graham Media Group, Inc.; Nexstar's KADN-TV and KLAF-LD stations in Lafayette, Louisiana to Bayou City Broadcasting Lafayette, Inc.; Nexstar's KREG-TV station in Denver, Colorado to Marquee Broadcasting, Inc.; the Company's WBAY-TV station in Green Bay, Wisconsin and KWQC-TV station in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa to Gray Television Group, Inc.; the Company's KIMT station in Rochester, Minnesota, WTHI-TV station in Terre Haute, Indiana, WLFI-TV station in Lafayette, Indiana, as well as Nexstar's WFFT-TV station in Ft. Wayne, Indiana and KQTV station in Saint Joseph, Missouri to USA Television MidAmerica Holdings, LLC; and the Company's KASA-TV station in Albuquerque, New Mexico to Ramar Communications, Inc. The Company expects that the sales of these stations will occur substantially concurrent with the closing of the transaction with Nexstar, which is expected to occur later this year. The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries and certain variable interest entities (“VIE”) for which the Company is considered to be the primary beneficiary. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In determining whether the Company is the primary beneficiary of a VIE for financial reporting purposes, the Company considers whether it has the power to direct certain activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE and whether it has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive returns that would be significant to the VIE. Assets of consolidated VIE’s can only be used to settle the obligations of that VIE. As discussed in Note 3, the Company consolidates the results of WXXA, WLAJ, WBDT, WYTV, KTKA, KWBQ, KRWB, and KASY pursuant to the VIE accounting guidance. All of the liabilities are non-recourse to the Company, except for certain of the debt, which the Company guarantees. The Company is also the primary beneficiary of the VIE that holds the Supplemental 401(k) Plan’s investments and consolidates the plan accordingly. The Company has two reportable segments, “Broadcast” and “Digital” that are disclosed separately from our corporate activities. The Broadcast segment includes 71 television stations that are either owned, operated or serviced by the Company in 48 markets, all of which are engaged principally in the sale of television advertising. The Digital segment includes the operating results of the Company's digital businesses as well as the business operations related to the television station companion websites. The Company guarantees all of the debt of LIN Television Corporation ("LIN Television", a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company) and the debt of its consolidated VIEs. LIN Television guarantees all of the debt of its restricted wholly owned subsidiaries and the debt of its consolidated VIEs. All of the consolidated wholly owned subsidiaries of LIN Television fully and unconditionally guarantee LIN Television's 5.875% Senior Notes due 2022 (the “2022 Notes”) and the 6.375% Senior Notes due 2021 (the "2021 Notes") on a joint-and-several basis, subject to customary release provisions. In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) issued a converged standard on revenue recognition from contracts with customers, Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2014-09 (Topic 606 and IFRS 15). This standard will supersede nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance. In August 2015 the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Revenue From Contracts With Customers: Deferral of the Effective Date which defers the effective date of ASU 2014-09 until fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2017. In April and May 2016, the Board issued accounting standard updates, 2016-10 - Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, and 2016-12 - Revenue From Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, respectively. Collectively, these updates, along with ASU 2014-09 and ASU 2015-14 form the new revenue recognition standard that is to be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest - Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs ("ASU 2015-03"). ASU 2015-03 requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability. ASU 2015-03 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2015. The Company adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2016 and $26 million was reclassified to reduce "Long-term Debt" as of September 30, 2016. In order to conform to the presentation adopted, $32 million was reclassified from "Other assets, net" to "Long-term Debt" in the 2015 figures presented on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets and in Note 10 Guarantor Financial Information. Approximately $285 thousand was reclassified from "Other assets, net" to "Long-term Debt" in the 2015 figures presented in Note 3 Variable Interest Entities. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases, which requires the lease rights and obligations arising from lease contracts, including existing and new arrangements, to be recognized as assets and liabilities on the balance sheet. ASU 2016-02 is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018 with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements. In March 2016, the FASB released ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. The ASU includes multiple provisions intended to simplify various aspects of the accounting for share-based payments. The ASU is effective for public companies in annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows - Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. The ASU addresses eight specific cash flow issues with the objective of reducing the existing diversity in practice. The ASU is effective for public companies in annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and with applicable quarterly reporting regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. They do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements and, accordingly, should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related footnotes included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Media General, Inc. ("Media General" or the "Company") for the year ended December 31, 2015. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of interim financial information have been included.

In September 2015, the Company announced a merger agreement under which the Company would have acquired all of the outstanding common stock of Meredith Corporation (“Meredith”) in a cash and stock transaction. Later in September of 2015 the Company received an unsolicited proposal from Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (“Nexstar”) to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Media General. Following discussion between the various parties, in January 2016 Media General terminated its agreement with Meredith, with Media General paying Meredith a $60 million termination fee and providing Meredith with an opportunity to negotiate for the purchase of certain broadcast and digital assets owned by the Company. Immediately thereafter, the Company entered into an agreement with Nexstar whereby Nexstar will acquire all outstanding shares of Media General for $10.55 per share in cash, 0.1249 shares of Nexstar Class A common stock for each Media General share and a contingent value right (CVR). The cash consideration and the stock consideration are fixed amounts and do not increase or decrease based upon the proceeds (if any) from the disposition of either Nexstar's or Media General's spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission's ("FCC") Incentive Auction. Upon the completion of the transaction, Nexstar will change its name to Nexstar Media Group. Each CVR will entitle Media General shareholders to a pro rata share of the net cash proceeds as received from the sale of Media General's spectrum in the FCC's Incentive Auction. It is estimated that Media General shareholders will own approximately 34% and existing Nexstar shareholders will retain approximately 66% ownership of the combined company after closing. The closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of a number of conditions including, but not limited to, the approval of various matters relating to the transaction by Media General and Nexstar shareholders, the approval of the FCC, clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust act and certain third party consents. On September 15, 2016 the transaction received clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust act. Merger-related expenses for legal and professional fees for the Nexstar transaction totaled $1.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016. Merger-related expenses for the Meredith termination fee, legal and professional fees for the Meredith and Nexstar transactions totaled $69 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016.

In connection with the Nexstar transaction, Nexstar and its respective subsidiaries, as applicable, have entered into definitive agreements to divest Nexstar's WCWJ station in Jacksonville, Florida and the Company's WSLS-TV station in Roanoke-Lynchburg, Virginia to Graham Media Group, Inc.; Nexstar's KADN-TV and KLAF-LD stations in Lafayette, Louisiana to Bayou City Broadcasting Lafayette, Inc.; Nexstar's KREG-TV station in Denver, Colorado to Marquee Broadcasting, Inc.; the Company's WBAY-TV station in Green Bay, Wisconsin and KWQC-TV station in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa to Gray Television Group, Inc.; the Company's KIMT station in Rochester, Minnesota, WTHI-TV station in Terre Haute, Indiana, WLFI-TV station in Lafayette, Indiana, as well as Nexstar's WFFT-TV station in Ft. Wayne, Indiana and KQTV station in Saint Joseph, Missouri to USA Television MidAmerica Holdings, LLC; and the Company's KASA-TV station in Albuquerque, New Mexico to Ramar Communications, Inc. The Company expects that the sales of these stations will occur substantially concurrent with the closing of the transaction with Nexstar, which is expected to occur later this year.

The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries and certain variable interest entities (“VIE”) for which the Company is considered to be the primary beneficiary. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In determining whether the Company is the primary beneficiary of a VIE for financial reporting purposes, the Company considers whether it has the power to direct certain activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIE and whether it has the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive returns that would be significant to the VIE. Assets of consolidated VIE’s can only be used to settle the obligations of that VIE. As discussed in Note 3, the Company consolidates the results of WXXA, WLAJ, WBDT, WYTV, KTKA, KWBQ, KRWB, and KASY pursuant to the VIE accounting guidance. All of the liabilities are non-recourse to the Company, except for certain of the debt, which the Company guarantees. The Company is also the primary beneficiary of the VIE that holds the Supplemental 401(k) Plan’s investments and consolidates the plan accordingly.

The Company has two reportable segments, “Broadcast” and “Digital” that are disclosed separately from our corporate activities. The Broadcast segment includes 71 television stations that are either owned, operated or serviced by the Company in 48 markets, all of which are engaged principally in the sale of television advertising. The Digital segment includes the operating results of the Company's digital businesses as well as the business operations related to the television station companion websites.

The Company guarantees all of the debt of LIN Television Corporation ("LIN Television", a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company) and the debt of its consolidated VIEs. LIN Television guarantees all of the debt of its restricted wholly owned subsidiaries and the debt of its consolidated VIEs. All of the consolidated wholly owned subsidiaries of LIN Television fully and unconditionally guarantee LIN Television's 5.875% Senior Notes due 2022 (the “2022 Notes”) and the 6.375% Senior Notes due 2021 (the "2021 Notes") on a joint-and-several basis, subject to customary release provisions.

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) issued a converged standard on revenue recognition from contracts with customers, Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2014-09 (Topic 606 and IFRS 15). This standard will supersede nearly all existing revenue recognition guidance. In August 2015 the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Revenue From Contracts With Customers: Deferral of the Effective Date which defers the effective date of ASU 2014-09 until fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2017. In April and May 2016, the Board issued accounting standard updates, 2016-10 - Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, and 2016-12 - Revenue From Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, respectively. Collectively, these updates, along with ASU 2014-09 and ASU 2015-14 form the new revenue recognition standard that is to be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest - Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs ("ASU 2015-03"). ASU 2015-03 requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability. ASU 2015-03 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2015. The Company adopted this guidance as of January 1, 2016 and $26 million was reclassified to reduce "Long-term Debt" as of September 30, 2016. In order to conform to the presentation adopted, $32 million was reclassified from "Other assets, net" to "Long-term Debt" in the 2015 figures presented on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets and in Note 10 Guarantor Financial Information. Approximately $285 thousand was reclassified from "Other assets, net" to "Long-term Debt" in the 2015 figures presented in Note 3 Variable Interest Entities.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases, which requires the lease rights and obligations arising from lease contracts, including existing and new arrangements, to be recognized as assets and liabilities on the balance sheet. ASU 2016-02 is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018 with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB released ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. The ASU includes multiple provisions intended to simplify various aspects of the accounting for share-based payments. The ASU is effective for public companies in annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows - Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. The ASU addresses eight specific cash flow issues with the objective of reducing the existing diversity in practice. The ASU is effective for public companies in annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.